Olympic champion Noah Lyles explains his reason for the wild celebrations after cruising to the 100m gold in Paris 2024.
Five months after being crowned the Olympic 100m champion feels like yesterday for Noah Lyles.
While the six-time world champion carried the hopes of the more than 330 million US population, nobody exactly knew what to expect in finals of the 100m race.
Both Lyles and Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson were tipped to clinch the much-coveted gold owing to their past performances but it was the former who prevailed in one of the most competitive races witnessed in the history of the specialty.
Olympic champion Noah Lyles previously bragged about why it was unthinkable of him losing the Olympics 100m final.
Lyles – the first time American to win gold in the 100m since Justin Gatlin in 2004 – raised his arms in triumph to wild cheers from the packed crowd at the Stade de France, ripping his bib name from his shirt and holding it aloft, as he announced himself as the fastest man in the world while celebrating with family.
Explaining the reason for raising his arms in celebration, Lyles said: “It’s the one I wanted, it’s the hard battle, it’s the amazing opponents. Everybody came prepared for the fight and I wanted to prove that I’m the man among all of them, I’m the wolf among wolves,” he told the Daily Mail.
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Noah Lyles almost never uses this one tactic in his racing that he was forced to use thanks to Kishane Thompson’s threat in the final of the 100m at the Paris Olympics.
After crossing the finish line in 9.79 seconds, he edged out Kishane Thompson, of Jamaica, by an astonishing five thousandths (0.005) of a second. This marked the greatest moment of his career, considering his only Olympic medal had been a bronze medal at the Tokyo Games in 2021 (200m).
However, it wasn’t all plain sailing for him. After coming out on top in the 100m, Lyles boldly predicted he would win the 200m race, only to settle for bronze. It later emerged that the American sprint sensation had competed while suffering from Covid-19, which forced him to pull out of the 4x100m relay.
